SIR of electoral rolls to be expanded nationwide soon: CEC Gyanesh Kumar

According to the CEC, elections conducted on the basis of these revised rolls proved historic, recording the highest voter turnout since 1951 at 67.13 percent.

• Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls underway in 12 states and UTs
• Bihar's revised rolls saw no legal challenges and record voter turnout
• CEC urges young voters to fight misinformation and participate actively

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The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls will soon be rolled out across the remaining states and Union territories, said Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar on Saturday, noting that "pure electoral rolls are the bedrock of democracy".

Kumar said the revision exercise is currently being carried out smoothly in 12 states and Union territories, while it has already been successfully completed in Bihar. A separate special revision is underway in Assam, he added.

He was speaking on the eve of the Election Commission of India’s foundation day, also observed as National Voters’ Day.

“With this objective, the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls was initiated to ensure that every eligible elector’s name is included and every ineligible name is removed,” the CEC said.

Highlighting the outcome of the exercise in Bihar, Kumar said its credibility was underscored by the absence of any legal challenge. “The most compelling testament to the success of the SIR in Bihar was that not a single appeal was filed against the final electoral roll, establishing its sanctity and credibility,” he said.

According to the CEC, elections conducted on the basis of these revised rolls proved historic, recording the highest voter turnout since 1951 at 67.13 percent. Women voters registered an unprecedented participation rate of 71.78 percent.

Kumar also outlined a series of initiatives undertaken by the Election Commission in recent years, including large-scale capacity-building programmes that trained over 5,000 Booth Level Officers and supervisors at the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management in New Delhi.

Other measures included the launch of the ECINet app, which integrates all elector services on a single digital platform, mobile deposit facilities at polling stations, and a decision to cap the maximum number of electors per polling station at 1,200 to improve voter convenience.

On India’s growing role in global electoral management, Kumar said the country has assumed the chairship of International IDEA and recently hosted what he described as the world’s largest international conference on election management, with participation from election authorities of more than 70 countries.

Making a special appeal to young voters, the CEC urged them to actively counter misinformation and disinformation. “I call upon our young electors to lead the fight against false narratives. For this, it is essential that they remain fully informed about electoral processes and the initiatives of the Election Commission,” he said.

“The first step in the service of the nation is voting,” Kumar added, calling on all citizens who have attained the age of 18 to enrol as electors and exercise their franchise.

The Election Commission of India was established on January 25, 1950, a day before India became a republic. National Voters’ Day has been observed annually on this date since 2011 to encourage greater participation in the democratic process.